Bollywood Bindas: 1930s to 60s

 The article below was originally written as a radio documentary for CityFM89 - as a three part series on the music of Bollywood - Bollywood Bindas. This is part one: 

March 14^th 1931: The Imperial Film Company’s Alam Ara was released. The Indian film song was born – the first Indian talkie - didn’t just talk it sang. The plot was just a tool to string together a dozen songs The centuries of song, dance and music in Indian theatre found its way to the silver screen……

Alam Ara opened the flood gates for the Indian musical and there has been no looking back since then. We follow the evolution of the mega industry through song. Indian cinema has always been about the song. When there is overwhelming emotion – love, hatred, heartbreak or desire – spoken word is not enough. It has to be sung….

Kundan Lal Saigal sang for and starred in P C Barua’s original Devdas. Possibly, India’s first superstar -  Saigal - worked exclusively for New Theatres Studio. Early Bollywood was much like present day Hollywood – with each studio employing its own directors, stars and music directors. Early film songs were very simple in terms of music, lyrics and orchestration. Artists sang their own songs – picturized in a single shot, live. A harmonium and tabla were used out of the camera with a cleverly hidden microphone…….Timeless melodies were still created….

 Sometime during the 40s - the studio system collapsed  and freelancers took over. Music production became more specialized. The industry opened its doors to professional musicians and singers. We saw the rise of truly great singers like  Noor Jehan, Talat Mehmood and Shamshad Begum. Possibly the greatest movie of the 40s was Andaz – produced by Mehboob Khan, starring Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Nargis…..and music by Naushad….was the first of many dark, super star studded,  love triangles to follow in the story of Indian film…

During the 1950s, the number of film makers increased while the number of cinema houses remained the same. The days when exhibitors worried about not having enough films to show were now gone. Power shifted from the producer to the distributor and exhibitor and they knew exactly what they wanted – star power… stars like Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Nargis achieved demi-god status. It was at this time that we saw the rise of the nightingale of India  – Lata Mangeshkar - often pairing up with soulful men like Hemant Kumar, Manna Dey and Mukesh – singing the tunes of SD Burman, OP Nayyar and Shankar Jaikishen. Movies were now bigger than ever – beautiful leading men and women, sensational singers and magical music directors. 1952’s swashbuckling epic Aan featured a dashing Dilip Kumar taming an unruly princess…in fact Mehboob Khan’s Aan was the first movie to make it to international cinemas

Peshawar born Raj Kapoor continued to charm audiences across the world with his tramp like image – (start with ‘awara hoon’) film historians speak of him as the Charlie Chaplin of the East – with endearingly memorable roles in Shree 420, Chori Chori and Awara…

On the other hand, Dilip Kumar – born Yusuf Khan in Peshawar – was crowned the ‘tragedy king.’ He is considered to be one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema – with his performances being the epitome of emotion. When talking about the Indian tragedy Dilip Kumar’s Devdas and Guru Dutt’s Pyaasa cannot be ignored. Pyaasa is the only Indian film to be featured on the Time magazine’s list of 100 greatest movies of all time.

Indian cinema continued to create waves with  critically acclaimed masterpiece by Satyajit Ray and Mehboob Khan’s Mother India. It is rumored that the then Iraqi Prime Minister Abdul Karim Kassim made his way to the cinema the day the movie was released in Baghdad. It was truly the Golden Age of Indian cinema and it was  truly endearing – with coy romances, soulful tragedies and stirring patriotism – which are the mainstay of Indian cinema to date.

 The 60s changed the sound of Indian cinema. The greatest male playback singers to date – Kishore Kumar and Rafi ruled supreme – as did Lata and Asha. Rahul Dev Burman was unstoppable – producing hit after hit. The 60s literally exploded on to the screen with brightly colored romances ­– with funky tunes and some crazy moves….by the likes of Shammi Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor, Asha Parekh and Mumtaz…

During the 60s, Bollywood concentrated on light entertainment using powerhouse actors and singers to bring to fill up the cinema halls. In 1964, film maker and actor Raj Kapoor visited Switzerland for the first time to film Sangam – while the movie was not a novel idea – the trend of shooting in exotic locales had now begun…and it was here to stay....

It was an age when people were truly in love with the silver screen – it was everything we wanted to be – beautiful, in love and dancing.  The logical conclusion to this devotion was a love affair of many young girls with the one and only Rajesh Khanna….

Rajesh Khanna formed a playback partnership with none other than the great Kishore Kumar. Many of the biggest hits of 60s and 70s were sung by Kishore and picturised on Rajesh Khanna. Kishore remains unmatched in his range and style. He is possibly the greatest male voice of India. (sound clip where he says he knows nothing about the ragas) It is unimaginable to think of Indian film music without Kishore – he created timeless moments for many of us – and continues to do so. 

The Best of Pakistani Pop

Here's my list of 10 favorite Pakistani pop songs of all time - in no particular order of preference. What do you guys think? Let me know with comments or stones.

1. Ahmed Rushdie's Coco Koreena - a catchy melody and easy to sing-a-long lyrics paired with the good looks of the quintessential Pakistani hero - Waheed  Murad

2. Noor Jehan's Munda Shehr Lahore Da - sisters started doin' it for themselves with Naghma telling Ijaz exactly what she wants - wooing him with suggestive lyrics and aggressive dance moves. Noor Jehan's vocals keep it raunchy. Delicious!

3. Alamgir's Dekha Na Tha - Alamgir was Pakistan's earliest pop stars in the true sense of the word. Earlier, music from the movies was popular music. With Alamgir, we saw an independent pop singer - complete with colorful shirts and some dancing

4. Nazia & Zohaib Hassan - Disco Deewane - to pick just ONE song by the sibling duo is blasphemy - with gems like Pyar Ka Jadoo, Ankhane Milane Wale, Telephone Pyar and more, this is just a representation of their contribution to Pakistani pop.

5. Vital Signs - Dil Dil Pakistan - It doesn't get bigger than this in Pakistani pop! Vital Signs took us by storm and the best part is their melodies still ring close to our hearts. Kids still sing Dil Dil Pakistan on 14th August - our second national anthem.
                                   

6. Sajjad Ali - Babiya Although the song was a complete rip-off of Didi by Khaled, the song was still hugely popular! Of course, it's initial political incorrectness makes it even better. The song also brought Sajjad Ali to the pop consciousness for the first time.

                                         
                                 
7. Jazba-e-Junoon by Junoon - it's hard to choose just one Junoon song, but since I have to - this is my  favorite Junoon  song. I remember being so sure that the 96 World Cup was in the bag for us every time I heard this song. We didn't win the World Cup but this song is a winner for sure!

8. Duur by Strings - the comeback singles by the dynamic duo came at a time when local music channels were growing and we started looking locally for our music instead of across the border.
                                     

 

9. Bheegi Yaadein by Atif Aslam - because who doesn't love a song about rain and an ex you really miss

                                       

10. Mojambo by Bumbu Sauce - THIS is what a Pakistani pop song should be all about and yet make no sense at all in the end. As long it makes you scream Mojambo randomly, the song has done the job.
 

                               

Let me know what you guys think of the list. and enjoy!